Cooper Roberts was shot in the chest and suffered several serious injuries, including a severed spinal cord, Loizi said at a virtual news conference earlier Thursday.
He remains in the hospital, sedated and on a ventilator, in critical but stable condition, Loisi said.
“It’s going to be a new normal for him moving forward,” Loisy said. “It sounds (like) he’s going to have significant trouble going forward, especially with walking.”
Cooper and his twin, Luke, loved the parade, Loisy said. This beloved event ended in tragedy when a gunman began firing a semi-automatic rifle into the crowd from a rooftop. Seven people were killed and dozens more – including Roberts – were injured.
Luke suffered shrapnel injuries, was treated and released and is now recovering at home, Loisy said. Their mother, Keeley Roberts, “was shot in the leg and foot area” and underwent several surgeries, the spokesman added.
She has since been discharged because she insisted she wanted to be by Cooper’s side in the hospital, Loizi said.
Cooper and Luke also have four older sisters, according to the spokesperson. A verified GoFundMe campaign has been set up to support the family.
Baseball fan and fighter
Cooper has always been very active, loves baseball — and sports in general — and is a Milwaukee Brewers fan, Loizzi said.
The twin brothers are “best friends, partners in crime,” Cooper’s oldest sister said in a statement.
“Cooper has never met a stranger a day in his life – everyone he meets is his best friend (second only to Luke),” she said in a statement. “He’s also incredibly athletic – loves football, biking, baseball (Go Brew Crew – about a week ago he went to his first Brewers game and couldn’t love it more) and football (Go Pack Go). He is so studious and loves to read – literally a bookworm. Maybe that’s why he’s the funniest, most engaging storyteller you’ll ever meet.”
“There is nothing this kid can’t do and there are no words for the amount of kindness in him,” it added.
Cooper has undergone several surgeries since the shooting. But, like his mother, Cooper is a fighter, Loizi said.
“If you know Keely, she’s just a fighter, and it sounds like Cooper has taken that part of her into him because she fights as hard as she can,” Loisi said.
Keeley Roberts is the superintendent of Zion Elementary School District 6, a school district in northeastern Illinois. In a statement, district officials said they hope Cooper “will be OK, but we know his medical bills will be significant, as will the therapy that will follow.”
“Please pray that Cooper makes the best possible recovery. Any help you can provide — thoughts, prayers or donations — is greatly appreciated,” the district said in a statement.
Loisi, who said he knew Roberts from work, described her as always committed to her students, working “around the clock” and emailing him even into the early hours of the morning, “worrying about the students in her schools and how she can support and serve them them.”
“She’s been a school administrator for many, many years, serving many districts, and I’ve been continually amazed … (by) how she gives her all, works hard day and night to serve students and families in the public schools,” Loizi said. “And now she and her family need our support.
CNN’s Ashley Killough contributed to this report.
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